In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
by MrKlortho
Summary: Xander's made a new life for himself away from the dangers and pitfalls of his previous "night life". What happens when his past and present worlds collide in a way that could destroy everything he’s built up?
1. Chapter 1

Title: In The Aeroplane Over the Sea

Author: Mr Klortho

Rating: Teen (Really, suitable for all ages, but I just want to make sure I cover my basis)

Summary: Xander's made a new life for himself away from the dangers and pitfalls of his previous "night life". What happens when his past and present worlds collide in a way that could destroy everything he's built up?

A/N: This is a repost. I wrote this story about a year ago, and since then have been writing a lot more. I think this newer version flows better. Who knows though; a year from now, I may be doing this again.

Disclaimer: I don't own BtVS, or anything to do with it, blah blah blah.

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"Oh buddy, if I have an afternoon like this one again, I'm gonna stop that whole 'workin' for a living and takin' what they're giving,' and you know what, just flat out punch Huey Lewis in the face."

With another brutal day at the job site behind him, Xander Harris was more than ready to kick back on his recliner, grab a beer, watch Babylon 5 reruns accumulating on his DVR, and zone out for the next 28-52 hours. But as he shut the front door to his modest 3 bedroom home, he knew no matter how many times he clicked the heels of his work boots together, it just couldn't happen.

He had at least a few hours worth of paperwork and blueprints still to look over, plus an upstairs toilet acting up.

He was knee deep in what he lovingly called "boca del infierno di suburban-o".

You would think that four years of being retired from the brand spankin' new Watchers Council would make anyone used to nine to five drudgery. Not him though. Staking vampires was his normal.

He sighed, "You can take the kid out of the Hellmouth..."

He walked toward the kitchen, beginning his nightly post-work ritual by tossing his coat and briefcase on the steps leading to the second floor. He groaned as he remembered it was Tuesday, which meant it was his night to make dinner.

He let out another loud, less-than-manly sigh, rolled up his sleeves, and bent down to the lower cupboard, grabbing the spaghetti pot. Usually he tried to add a little flair to the menu when he played chef, but not tonight; tonight even his hair ached.

Luckily spaghetti was his _speciality_. Well, at least that's what he used to boast to Dawn and Buffy when he would cook at their house back in Sunnydale. And though they always rolled their eyes and mockingly agreed, he knew that somewhere deep, deep, deep inside, they totally believed him.

Besides, with the horrific crap Dawn used to invent for dinner, those girls gobbled up his spaghetti like it was Italian flavored crack.

"No," he muttered, "this is the life of the new, domesticated Xander Harris".

He still wore the eye patch, which he considered the Hellmouthy version of a "Red Badge of Courage". Plus it worked wonders intimidating the hell out of unruly employees.

Take that away though, and the rest of him became completely mundane. He now had short, business appropriate hair, laugh lines around the eye, and a slight paunch that he was totally planning on loosing sometime soon.

Plus, like many a good man, he'd fallen prey to the vilest of all suburban inventions: a mortgage.

Sometimes he felt so far removed from who he used to be, it frightened him. If he walked up to "Young Xander", threw an arm around his shoulder, and said, "Boy do I have a story for you," would the words, "Spike slept with Buffy, repeatedly, and oh yeah, Anya too," scare him more or less than, "You'll quickly realize that a money market fund is by far the safest way to protect your investment."

He guessed probably the former.

He set the water on the stove to boil, grabbed the cutting board, and began chopping the onions for his sauce. His thoughts drifted away as he got caught up in the rhythmic motion of the knife cutting through onion. Growing up, fine dining in the Harris household consisted of ordering from the pricey Asian restaurant up the street. He didn't really touch a pot or pan until he moved out on his own, which made it such a revelation to find that cooking helped calm him down.

He made the last slice clean through. The old cliché was that you cried as you cut an onion. Not him. He smiled a megawatt smile. That's because he knew what came after he cut the last onion. It was the same every Tuesday, and his brain had been hotwired to react the same way every time.

It was the highlight of his day.

You see, for all his bitching and moaning, he knew no matter how strong the urge to stab something undead in the heart with pointy wood, he had too great of a reason to ever go back to being what the slayers in Scotland had dubbed, "Col. Xander Fury".

"Daddy?" The whispered words floated down the steps.

Standing there, peeking through the banister, was his gorgeous, doe eyed, brown haired, slightly chubby in-a-completely-adorable-way-especially-when-she-wore-pigtails little precious of a reason for being a modern day Ward Beaver, instead of an ass-kicking warrior of the undead.

"The lord of the manor has returned!" he said with as much pompousness his lungs would allow.

He walked toward the stairs, hearing the pitter-patter of little feet move as fast as a four year old could run.

He made it to the bottom just as his little girl launched herself like a missile into his waiting arms.

"Oh honey, daddy missed you so much today," he said, closing his eyes and squeezing his little girl tight.

This was easily the greatest joy in his life.

"My name's not honey, Daddy!" she said with a giggle.

Xander pulled away so he could look her in the eye. "It's not huh? Hmmm," he said with a hand slowly rubbing his chin. "I plum forgot your name! How silly of me!"

"Guess!" she screamed. He had to hold on tight she wriggled so much. Boy did she love this game.

"How about…Cinderella?" he asked.

"Noooooo!"

"Mary Poppins?"

"Uh-uh."

"Patty Mayonnaise?"

"No Daddy!" Her head shook side to side like a paint tumbler.

"What's my name?" she yelled again.

"Snoop Doggy Dog?"

"No…Huh?"

"Never mind kiddo, a little before your time." He knew he had to end this now, or she would keep the questions going all night. He remembered the "Why, daddy?" incident of Labor Day, 2012 and knew this time his sanity wouldn't return.

"Wait, I think it's coming back to me. Is it C.J.?"

"No!"

"D.J.?"

"No!"

"M.J.?"

"Daaddddyyyy!" she whined. Even SHE was loosing her patience.

He squeezed his eyes shut and scrunched his face. "Is it…A.J.?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yaaaaaaaahhhhh!" she exploded, hugging him tight again. Finding out she won a date with Sponge Bob wouldn't have excited her as much.

"You're so smart daddy!"

"Well honey, I have about 25 teachers and 7 ex-girlfriends that might disagree with you on that one."

A voice drifted from the top of the steps. "I think it only matters what this little darling believes."

Xander looked up as Mrs. McGinty walked down the stairs. She was a neighbor from down the street who had welcomed them when he, Ziva, and A.J. first moved in. She was a great lady who exuded the stereotypical grandmother vibe. Unfortunately her only son and grandchildren lived in Arizona, and didn't make it back to the suburbs of D.C. too often. Luckily for Xander, that meant that she was more than happy to spend time with A.J. and watch her whenever her parents ran late at work. A.J. loved the arrangement; Mrs. McGinty let her try on makeup, which apparently was just the greatest thing ever, or so he was told..

He grinned. "You know what, you're right Mrs. McGinty. Now, I just have to make sure it stays that way." He gave his daughter a mock serious look. "Now A.J., I want you to remember these very simple rules: no conversations with doctoral students, fans of Kurosawa, or people who have won any money on Jeopardy."

"Ok Daddy."

"That's my girl."

Mrs. McGinty smiled at them both. "We just finished playing Candyland. I was going to help her wash up before you got home, but I thought since you hadn't eaten dinner yet, that you might want to hold off on that until afterwards."

"Absolutely. You see, you'd never know it by looking at her little innocent face, but this little monster just happens to be a world class stain magnet," growled Xander.

"I'm not a monster Daddy!" the girl in question said defensively.

Xander's eye crinkled in amusement. "I know honey, Daddy is just teasing." He turned back towards Mrs. McGinty. "Hey, would you like to stay and eat with us, Mrs. McGinty? I made plenty," Xander said while waving his hand vaguely in the direction of the kitchen. A.J. chimed in with a raucous, "Yes, please!"

"No," she said chuckling, "I have to go home and make sure my husband eats, or he'll just end up wasting away on that recliner of his."

"Ah, a man after my own heart," Xander said whimsically as he moved to open and unlock the front door. "But we can still expect you on Saturday, right? You know Ziva has been planning this cookout for like the last 3 months. I'll be honest with you, I've never seen her like this. She's been freaking out for the last week because she worries it's not going to turn out just perfect. She even invited her coworkers, including that creepy kid from the morgue."

"Oh, we'll be here if I can somehow drag Herb away from the TV. Just make sure to remind her that I'm bringing the potato salad," she said as she slowly made her way out the front door.

"Will do. And thank you once again, I know how much of a handful the munchkin can be," Xander said while tickling the little girl in his arms. Her peals of laughter were probably waking up the entire neighborhood.

"Oh, believe me when I say it's the highlight of my day. Bye my little darling angel!" She waved goodbye as she walked down the street..

"Bye Ms. McG!" A.J. waived back with enthusiasm, matched only by the volume of her yelling. He shut the door quickly, hoping the neighbors didn't call the police for a noise violation…again.

That reminded him, he needed to look into sound proofing his bedroom before the neighbors complained, or A.J. hears something she shouldn't and starts asking some "panic attack" inducing questions. If it came to that, he would make Ziva answer every single one; lord knows it would be her fault anyway.

"Well kiddo, you up for helping daddy make dinner tonight?" he asked as they made their way back to the kitchen.

For the first time since he got home, A.J.'s cheery exterior vanished, replaced by the whine of a typical four year old

"Daaadddy, I just like to eat, not make fooood."

Good thing for Xander, he and her mother had years of practice handling her fits. He set her down on the counter, and bent down so he could be at eye level.

"You really are your father's daughter, aren't you? Well kiddo, I tell you what. You help daddy make the salad, and I promise I'll wear the big white hat and do the Swedish Chef."

Her eyes lit up. "Really? Okay!"

He eased her off the counter, then started rooting through the refrigerator. "You are so easy to please. I just wish your mother accepted my Swedish Chef impression on Valentine's Day instead of making me buy her that tennis bracelet that daddy had to pay for with his 'Redskins season ticket fund' he'd been saving for months and months."

"Mommy is silly. Swedish Chef is my most favorite," she said matter-of-factly.

"I know!" Xander said as he threw his hands up. It was about time someone agreed with him.

"People jump all over the Elmo bandwagon, Elmo this, Elmo that, when everyone knows the Swedish Chef has been bringing it strong for almost forty years! People think that he's a one trick pony, and I say you're right, if that ponies name is 'Awesome' and his trick is 'making me laugh till I pee my pants'." He set the spinach and lettuce on the counter. "Ugh, I guess everyone loves the flavor the week, but nobody really appreciates the classics anymore."

"I do, daddy."

He'd have appreciated the sentiment a much more if his one ally wasn't engrossed in playing with her bellybutton.

He sighed. "I know you do honey, and that's why daddy loves you."

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Ten minutes later, Xander had just wrapped up his dead on impression of the Swedish Chef. Now he got ready to take the spaghetti pot off the burner. A.J. added diabetic proportions of cheese and croutons to the salad, which was, as everyone knows, her go-to move.

Xander was making the final preparations on his sauce when they both heard the back door open. A.J. scrambled down from the counter and ran into the living room yelling, "Mommy's home!"

A quiet breath escaped his lips. He loved his daughter more than life itself, but man-o-man could she be exhausting. He was thrilled Ziva was home so she could help occupy the little munchkin.

The fact she was gorgeous and had no problem with him putting his hands all over here certainly didn't hurt either.

"You're not mommy."

The words were so quiet, so quick, Xander almost missed them.

Almost.

His legs buckled under him, as he caught himself on the counter.

Half a second later, he sprinted out of the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: In The Aeroplane Over the Sea

Author: Mr Klortho

Rating: Teen (Really, suitable for all ages, but I just want to make sure I cover my basis)

Summary: Xander's made a new life for himself away from the dangers and pitfalls of his previous "night life". What happens when his past and present worlds collide in a way that could destroy everything he's built up?

Disclaimer: I don't own BtVS, or anything to do with it, blah blah blah.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Xander sprinted into the dark living room with two thoughts pounding in his head: One was the prayer that A.J. was alright, and the second was to wonder what the hell happened to the wards. According to the top witches in the Council, home invasion wasn't possible.

Busting through the doorway, the thought of wards and prayers flew from his mind. His little girl stood ram rod straight as a strange redheaded woman knelt in front of her, petting her hair. He also could see the strangers lips moving, but was too far away to hear what she said.

"Get away from her!" Xander screamed.

At the sound of his voice, A.J. ran straight into his waiting arms. He held his trembling daughter tight as she sobbed into his neck.

"The mean lady said you and Mommy were bad, and you don't love me!"

Xander stared daggers at the redhead. "Don't worry baby, she was just teasing. Your Mommy and Daddy love you very much, and we would never let anything happen to you."

"You sure about that, Xand?"

He had been so focused on the stranger and his little girl, he hadn't noticed anyone else in the living room. As soon as his eye landed on the other person emerging from the shadows, it grew large in recognition.

"Hello Kennedy, what a horrible surprise."

A quick look showed she hadn't changed much physically in the last few years. She had shorter hair cut just above her shoulders; her clothing style had definitely upgraded, if that was actually Prada she wore. Overall she looked well kept, and could have still passed for early twenties.

Her eyes looked harder though. There was a maliciousness now that had been lacking before.

Kennedy smiled grimly. "Hey Xand. You know, to this day I still have never met anyone as consistently not funny as you. It's almost like a gift. I'll admit, it's kind of refreshing to know you haven't changed that much in four years. Same old Xander."

Xander returned her fake smile. "And I still to this day haven't met anyone who is nearly as big a bitch as you were."

Kennedy's eyes narrowed, but he pressed on. "Unlike you though, I'd hoped that changed in the last four years."

He continued in a light, friendly tone. "You know, the more I think about it, it's probably better this way. You being nice would make me think we'd fallen into a mirror universe. But I don't see a goatee on you, so we should be good."

The redhead rose and stood next to Kennedy, wrapping her arm around her midsection. The movement caused Red's shirt to rise in the back, exposing a revolver tucked into her waistband.

His heart dropped. This was getting worse and worse.

Plus, something about the redhead seemed odd, and he couldn't put his finger on it. For being no bigger than 5'4", the woman gave off an unusual air of power. It could be cockiness from partnering with a slayer, or she could have something hidden up her sleeve.

Her long, red hair partially obscured a sneering face, while her lithe body was clothed in a weird combination of goth/punk. It was not lost on his male side that she filled the outfit very, very well.

In another universe he might consider her beautiful. In this one though, he desperately wanted her to get the hell out of his house.

She sickly grinned at he and A.J. It reminded Xander of a shark just before it eats another fish. "I would watch my mouth if I were you, One Eyed Willy. It wouldn't be smart to piss me off."

She winked condescendingly, then rolled her shoulders.

He felt it immediately; the very air around him crackled and charged with the taste of power she released. It hit him in compounding waves for a few seconds, and then just as suddenly stopped.

She smirked, nodding toward the hair standing up on his arms.

Okay, so she was a witch. A very, very powerful uber-witch.

Christ.

"Don't let him get to you Ser. You see, this is old hat for me and Xander. We've been at each others throats since the day we met."

Xaner's eye tightened a fraction. Hearing Kennedy say "Ser" jogged his memory.

Now he knew why she seemed odd; it was because he actually knew her. This was Serena Mitchell, who he'd tried to recruit six years ago for the Council.

She was based out of Florida at the time, and they'd desperately needed witches for the Southeastern United States. Match made in heaven, except for the little fact that she was not a "nice" kind of witch. All she cared about was power and getting more of it. The Council wasn't in that business anymore, and they had parted ways on not so great terms.

He remembered something else about her from back then; she used to be a blonde.

That could be useful.

Serena molded herself onto Kennedy's side. "I don't want anyone talking to you like that baby," she purred. "It just makes me soooo angry."

"I know it does baby," Kennedy said while staring into Serena's eyes, "but we have to stay on point here. This is too important to screw up."

Kennedy's left hand brushed Serena's hair behind her ear in an endearing gesture. Xander didn't focus on the odd timing of their PDA so much as the ring on her left ring finger. He recognized the object immediately, and stopped himself from swearing out loud.

Order of Taraka.

He'd seen too much trouble surround people wearing that ring. Death and destruction followed behind them like a favorite dog.

So that meant they were here to kill him.

His life wasn't what concerned him though; getting A.J. out of this house was his singular focus. He wouldn't allow his daughter to see what was about to happen.

He tried to set A.J. on the floor, but she clutched his neck that much harder. He got down so they were face to face, where she gave him a heartbreaking look. He had never seen his darling so scared.

He struggled to put on the happiest expression he could. He needed A.J. calm for whathappened next.

"Honey, can you do me a huge, mega big favor?" Slowly, she nodded her head.

He continued. "Can you be a big girl, and run down to Mrs. McGinty's house? Daddy has to talk to these ladies, and it's just gonna be boring, stupid adult talk."

A.J.'s eyes looked like saucers. Xander and Ziva never let her walk to the end of the driveway by herself, let alone down the street.

But the faux-sincere look on his face convinced her it was okay, because she started to slowly nod her head.

She whispered softly, "Ok Daddy, I'll go to -"

Serena interrupted her. "The kid can't leave," she hissed.

Xander stared at the two intruders in his home. Serena looked around the room with a combination of disdain and boredom. That seemed to be her default appearance.

Kennedy was more difficult to read. Her expression was almost completely blank, to the point it started to unsettle him. But there was also something lurking deep behind her eyes.

It was unease.

He stood back up. "Believe me when I say she'll have much more fun over there then sitting her with us stuffy grown-ups. She has some toys and coloring books at their house, so she'll be fine."

It was complete and utter b.s., but he hoped it would work.

Kennedy looked him dead in the eye. "She can't leave Xander, because she's the reason we're here."

His heart stopped. He was dying. That was the only possible explanation to the utter despair he felt. He knew Kennedy hated him, and he was prepared to deal with that. He never fathomed they would come for his daughter, regardless of what happened in the past.

The words galvanized him; if they thought they were taking his daughter, they were out of their minds.

Serena must have noticed the change in him, because she spit out, "Don't do whatever the fuck you're thinking of doing. It won't work."

Then a slow smile formed. "You know what? On second thought please DO try to do something. I got an itch that needs scratched."

"What my girl here is trying to say," Kennedy began, "is whatever your big plan on saving the day may be, and believe me, I know you're cooking up one in that head of yours, won't work. We've had this planned for months. Sorry to say Xander, this is going to happen."

While Serena chomped at the bit to finish their job, Kennedy did seem honestly perturbed to be doing this. That almost made it worst.

He needed a clear head if he was going to somehow get out of this, and the rage and fear developing weren't helping. He needed to get a grip.

First, he had to get A.J. out of the room. He couldn't do anything until her immediate safety was in hand.

"Honey?" said Xander, as he turned back to his daughter. "Since these mean old ladies won't let you go down to Mrs. McGinty's, can you please go up to the special secret place in your room?"

They both looked at Kennedy, silently asking for permission. She rolled her eyes, but said, "Fine. As long as it's just upstairs."

A.J. quickly made her way to the stairs. Before she got out of eyesight, she turned around and looked at Xander. He gave her a goofy grin and thumbs up, to which she giggled.

If this was the last time he ever saw his daughter, he wanted her to have a happy memory to remember him by.

A.J. raced up the stairs as Kennedy said, "It won't matter where you send her Xander, we have all the exits covered, and all the communications in or out of this place are cut off."

"Besides, if you have any hocus pocus up your sleeve, I'll know," said Serena, as she tapped the side of her head. "So that means no-no to a magical escape."

"It's just a tent we set up in her closet," Xander bit out. "I want to give her a few minutes before whatever happens, happens."

He deadpanned to Serena. "Or maybe you want to go up and check our bathmat though and make sure I didn't 'hocus pocus' it into a flying carpet."

He took a few slow, cleansing breaths as Serena and Kennedy both glared at him. He needed a plan, which meant he needed a few seconds to think.

First step: change the rules; keep these two on their toes so they hopefully made a mistake.

Xander turned on his heel, going back toward the kitchen.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" sneered Serena.

Xander stopped and smirked at her. "I'm going to the kitchen. If I'm going to die and have my daughter kidnapped, I want to do it on a full stomach."

Both looked mildly surprised. Before they could say anything, Xander tossed in, "are you coming or not?"

Serena pointed her finger at him. "Listen asshole, we don't have all the time -"

"Ser," Kennedy interrupted, "it doesn't matter. Let's just let humor him for a few minutes. It can't hurt."

Serena stood with her arms crossed, looking like a petulant child.. "Fine," she eventually bit out. "Whatever; let the dying man have a last meal."

"Yeah Wanda Maximoff, be a good little girl and listen to your boss," Xander taunted.

Serena's face turned red, and Kennedy rolled her eyes at him. "Is that another one of your geek references?" Kennedy asked.

Xander smiled without humor. "Oh come on now Kennedy, give credit where credits due; that's a CLASSIC geek reference."  
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	3. Chapter 3

Title: In The Aeroplane Over the Sea

Author: Mr Klortho

Rating: Teen (Language, mister!)

Summary: Xander's made a new life for himself away from the dangers and pitfalls of his previous "night life". What happens when his past and present worlds collide in a way that could destroy everything he's built up?

Disclaimer: I don't own BtVS, or anything to do with it, blah blah blah.

_____________________________________________________________________________

"So," Xander said casually, "Order of Taraka, huh? How's that workin' for ya?"

"How did you know that?" Kennedy asked in surprise.

While he stirred the sauce, he held up his left hand, and with his other pointed to the left ring finger.

"Oh," Kennedy said simply. "You wear it so long you kinda forget."

Xander put down the spatula and leaned on the counter. Then he picked up a towel and started wiping the sauce off his hands.

"Yeah, I heard the Nazi's had the same problem with those pesky swastikas. What can you do?" said Xander.

"So," he continued, clapping his hands together loudly, "while we wait for my delicious, yet kinda 'unworthy as a final meal' spaghetti sauce to heat up, why don't we chat a little?"

The sauce was done. Now it was even giving off a slightly burned smell. But he needed to stall, because he still had no clue how he was getting out of this.

"You're joking, right?" Serena snorted.

"Not at all. I've been told that I'm a real Chatty Cathy when facing imminent death." He gathered some vegetables in his hands to toss into the sauce.

He continued. "For example, I'm really curious as to how one gets into the whole assassination game. Do you get recruited, or is there some sort of summer temp gig that you can get in at the ground floor? Because if that's the case, gotta tell you; not really loving their hiring policy.

"Xander," Kennedy warned.

"Come on Kennedy, have a little heart humor the dying guy." He started to turn back towards the stove but spun back around, his look one of wide eyed innocence.

"Oh wait," he said, "you still actually HAVE your heart, right? I've heard some stories about that place and their version of 'freshman hazing'."

Kennedy huffed out a breath of air. It didn't take a genius to see she'd rather try and corral a group of sugared up four year olds than answer him.

"Fine, have it your way," she said, as she began to tick off her answers on her fingers. "Everyone gets recruited, the only summer interns we have never make it to the end of summer if you catch my drift, and yes, I still have my heart and every other organ in my body."

She then added, "Oh, and the life insurance premiums suck, but the dental is surprisingly thorough. There, are you happy?"

"Not really," he said shrugging his shoulders, "you used to be a lot more fun to rile up. Guess that's old age catching up with you."

He went back to stirring his sauce. God he was grasping at straws. The one plan he kept thinking of was the the old 'false sense of security' angle, which involved acting pathetic enough to catch them off guard. It would have been a lot easier to pull off when he and Kennedy first met, and she viewed him as a nothing.

"Look at him Ken," Serena whispered loud enough to draw Xander out of his thoughts. "I can actually see the wheels turning in that giant head of his, trying to think of something to do. It would be kinda sweet if it wasn't totally pathetic."

Okay, so 'false sense of security' was out. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of knowing they were right, though.

"Hey, Dick Sargent, my head is not giant," he said. "The eye patch makes the proportions all out of whack. It's like a damn optical illusion."

Serena gave him a confused look. "Who the hell is Dick Sargent?"

"We'll get back to that," said Xander with a smile. "For now though, how about you do me a favor and take a fiver. It's time to let the grownups talk."

He pointed to himself and Kennedy.

There was no strategic reason to piss off Serena; it just felt good.

Serena eyed him shrewdly. She didn't respond like he'd hoped. "You know what, I got the perfect way to finish you off." She pulled out the gun from her waistband, eying it, caressing it like another lover.

She continued. "It's slow, and agonizing, and generally a lot more cruel then what we were originally gonna do. But the plus side is, it's tons of fun for me. It's not something I usually pull out, but for a special occasion like this and for a geek like you, it's fucking poetic."

Inside, he was screaming like a five year old girl.

On the outside, Xander shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry to disappoint, but I was never much for poetry. To me, if the lines don't rhyme then I don't bother with my time."

He paused for a moment. "And yes, that was planned."

"I could never figure you out."

Kennedy's sudden U-turn in the conversation almost gave him whiplash. She must have noticed his surprise, because she gave him a condescending smile.

"Oh, did she interrupt your attempt at witty banter?" Serena said with mock sadness as she put the gun back in her pants. "I can't imagine why, since it's oh so interesting."

Xander patently ignored Serena. "I'm not exactly a Rubik's Cube wrapped in calculus, Kennedy."

Kennedy rolled her eyes at him. "Don't even start with that 'I'm just a goofy loser' bullshit."

Before he could stop himself, Xander spit out, "You don't know anything about anything. Comes with not being around for a few years."

Instead of irritation, Kennedy just went back to that condescending smile. "See? Isn't that better than pretending to be all passive aggressive and 'woe is me'?"

She slowly paced around the kitchen.

"Now, as I was saying; I can usually figure out somebody in the first five seconds I meet them. I try to pride myself on that ability, you know? I mean when I first met you in Sunnydale, I thought you were just the love struck puppy of a slayer who hung around her ankles while she barely fed you any table scraps."

She stopped in front of Serena, running a hand down the side of her face.

"Granted," Kennedy said, while staring at her lover. "I've never really had the highest opinion of men. I could never figure out how other woman can stand your scratchy faces and lumpy bodies, and, you know, penises in general. Still, I thought you were the lowest of the low, Xander."

She looked toward him. "Hell, I even had a higher opinion of Andrew. He might have been more annoying than an in grown hair, but at least he could cook a mean goulash."

"Now you're just being evil," Xander deadpanned while Serena cackled.

Kennedy now spoke with an intense, gravelly whisper. "And then you came back, at the winery, for me. I thought I was dead you know. Not a doubt in my mind. I was dazed, and lost, and I was easy pickings. I saw what Caleb did to the other girls, so what chance did I have?"

She stopped talking. The intensity to which she focused on him was off putting. He shifted from foot to foot, trying to avoid it.

She looked at him like he was some puzzle piece that didn't fit.

"But then someone was helping me up, pointing me in the right direction, murmuring 'It's gonna be okay, we're getting out of here'," she said. "Imagine my shock when I opened up my eyes and found it was you helping me. The guy who I thought brought nothing to the table, was the only one in the room willing to risk his life to save mine."

She ground out a laugh. "For the first time in my life, I was glad to be completely wrong about someone. Of course, at the time I had a bit of a concussion, so all I was thinking was 'Ooooh, ouch, pain.' I didn't even realize you weren't holding me up anymore."

She stopped again, turning her back to everyone in the room. She stared on to a point on his wallpaper, but looking a thousand miles past it.

"I heard it though," Kennedy continued, "heard that sound made when he put his thumb into your eye. Then I heard that scream. It sound actually scared me more than anything during our fight with the First."

She looked at Xander again, confusion evident once more.

"But it wasn't until later, when my head didn't feel like it was cotton anymore, when I remembered I had heard something else. 'You're the one who sees.' That stuck with me ever since, because I still can't wrap my mind around it."

The rage flash fired inside of him. How dare she bring that up when she was going to take his daughter.

"Yeah, well, if I really was the one who sees, I would have tossed your ass toward Caleb and gone on to enjoy a life of still being able to see things to the left."

"That's not true," Kennedy said immediately, "and you know it. It's not in you Xander Harris. You're that guy who always has to do the right thing, no matter what it might cost you. Even today, with everything that's happened, you would still go back to vineyard and try to save me."

"So what is this," Xander asked, "some sort of attempt to get on my good side by telling me how great I am? Because honestly, I can think of a few better ways to do that. Like not trying to steal my daughter!" he screamed.

"No, not at all." She had her hands out in a placating manner. "I'm not trying to scam you. It's just, well, if I don't do it now, I'm never going to have the chance to do it again, am I?"

The immediate rage drained from his body. This was enough.

"Why are you here, why are you doing this," Xander grit out.

Serena answered, "Because that little girl is worth -"

Xander cut her off. "I know why you're here for A.J. Daughter of one of the most powerful witches of the last five hundred years? Don't exactly have to be Bill Nye to figure the 'why' on that one."

"Don't forget you," Serena added, "the fact that you're her daddy makes a lot of people interested, too. You have a lot of enemies out there. Can't imagine why."

He ignored Serena, and spoke right at Kennedy.

"I want to know why YOU are here, and why YOU are doing this," Xander asked, jabbing his finger at her.

Kennedy carelessly shrugged her shoulders. "I figured it might be a little easier to process if it was me. You don't know the Order, Xander; not really. Unless I took the job, they would have sent some thing out of your worst nightmare to grab her, and believe me, they would not have been gentle about it."

"Oh gee, thanks for looking out for our best interests. But I guess it also makes some sort of perverse sense," Xander said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "You were there for the day she came into the world, of course you would be here for the last. It was all the days in between you had a problem with."

For the first time since they'd entered the kitchen, Kennedy's eyes narrowed in anger. He may have stumbled onto a new strategy.

"You can take all your self-righteousness and shove it up your ass," she said.

"Why, can't face the truth that you abandoned your daughter?"

His mocking face enraged Kennedy even more. "She was never my daughter! I only went along with the pregnancy because it was what SHE wanted. I was happy with the way things were. I didn't want them to change!"

There was no reason to ask who she meant by 'she'.

"God could you be more selfish." Years of thinking about this moment, what he would say when this came out, didn't hold a candle to the actual conversation. A part of him that felt like he was peeling off a scab.

He continued. "If you had any problems with it, you should have said something before we decided to move forward and do the insemination. Don't forget I was there the entire time Kennedy. There was plenty of opportunities for you to speak up and say you were nervous or you weren't sure about it."

"Oh please," she scoffed, "when it came to the baby, I was always the third wheel of the relationship. She was the mother, you were the father, and what was I gonna be, some sort of step mom? Please, I've had three of those in my life, and they all sucked."

He took a step toward her, volume increasing. "So instead, when things were the worst, and everybody needed each other, you turned tail and ran away to join the Order of Taraka? You decide to go from being a slayer, sworn to protect the world from vampires and demons and all the things that go bump in the night, to a bounty hunter for hire?"

He laughed mirthlessly. "What, we're all the 'domestic terrorist' positions filled?"

Kennedy threw up her hands in exasperation. "What do you want me to say? I left, went on the road for awhile, and did my slaying gig."

She jabbed herself in the chest. "Of course no one from the Council wanted anything to do with me, not even another slayer, not after you got all your nasty barbs and accusations stuck in their head."

Xander took another step, eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring. "You can spin it any way you like Kennedy, try to make me out to be the bad guy here, but we both know the truth; she had just given birth, she was bleeding out, and the last thing she wanted to hear in this world was you and I promise her we'd take care of her daughter."

He smiled a sick, miserable smile. "I promise you whatever Wiccan heaven Willow may have ended up, she's looking down at you, with Tara by her side, and thanking god every day that you were a coward."

Kennedy screamed out, "You shut the fuck up!"

Beyond hope, she actually started to lower her guard. If he could push her just a little farther, he might get a shot at her. He still needed a weapon though, and a knife was a little too close combat against a slayer.

Unfortunately that might be the only option he had. And it still left Serena.

One roadblock at a time.

He pressed on. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I hit a nerve? I thought we were being honest here, weren't we? I mean, just a few seconds ago you were telling me how you thought I was the most worthless human being in the world when we first met. It's a little tougher when the spotlights on you, isn't it?"

Kennedy's breathing deepened, and her body coiled like a Cobra ready to strike. Serena just stood there, her face a mask of confusion. It was obvious this was the first time she was hearing anything about this.

"I cared about her," Kennedy bit out.

She was getting close to losing all focus, or simply beating him to death. Xander spared a quick glance to his right; the knife he used to cut the vegetables was still there, just out of his reach.

He prayed to any god listening that the small movement he made toward the counter would go unnoticed.

He took a small step. Neither said a word.

Oh thank lord.

"You cared about the sex," Xander said. He moved another imperceptible step to the right.

"You didn't care about any of the small, wonderful meaningless things that made Willow, Willow. What was her favorite cartoon growing up, huh? Why was she deathly afraid of animals dressed in human clothing," Xander riffled off like he was administering a pop quiz.

Kennedy remained silent, her body almost humming in anger.

"I mean for the love of Pete, do you even know what her favorite song was? Any guesses? See, I'm thinking that from that eye strain on your face, the answer is no to all those questions."

He made one more small step, which put him finally within reaching distance. It was now or never.

"You don't know anything," Kennedy whispered.

"I know you left," he said simply.

Whatever held Kennedy back during the conversation suddenly vanished. "I was heartbroken because of that fucking baby, and I wanted it dead!"

Now was the perfect time to strike. Kennedy was a basket case, and she wouldn't have known if the 501st airborne landed in the kitchen.

Unfortunately for Xander, he stood there like a gaping fish, frozen to the spot. Kennedy's terrible admission had punctured his soul and thrown his plan out of whack.

She may not have been a witch, but Kennedy just put a spell on everyone in the room.

Her voice sounded raw when she began to talk. "I loved her more than I have ever loved anything in my life. Ever. Every day was better than the last. So when she brought up having a baby, any misgivings I had went to the back burner. How could I tell her no, when I had never seen her happier?"

Her words poured out like a hydrant. "So when she asked you to be the father, I figured okay; Xander isn't such a bad guy, could have been worse. And then you two were just so fucking happy about it, the thought of your own child together. Well guess what; I never had those fuzzy feelings. To me the baby was just some abstract concept that doesn't make sense until it's happening."

"I obviously couldn't tell Willow that." Her hands shook, and her skin reddened. "I didn't want to see the look in her eyes. I kept telling myself that once she had the baby and I could hold it in my arms, then I would start to love it like you two did."

Tears brimmed in Kennedy's eyes as she continued. "And then suddenly her water broke, and this whole situation was on our doorstep. I freaked out. But there you were, and there she was, prattling on in the hospital room, both so thrilled about what was going to happen. I remember sitting there thinking, 'God, can they just shut the fuck up about this kid for two minutes?'"

She barked a hollow laugh. "I guess that should have been my first sign that I wasn't going to be mother of the year."

Now the tears streamed down her face. "And then the birth." She paused and took a deep breath. "So much blood. The doctors were yelling, the baby was screaming, and then suddenly I'm being told that the love of my life is going to die in about five minutes."

The look she gave Xander, so much desperation, so much sadness, was jarring. For some reason, this woman was pleading with him to understand that everything he'd believed the last few years was a lie.

The heat coming from stove and its burners did nothing to stop the chills down his back.

"I mean, what do you do?" She was almost hysterical. "What do you say to that? How do you go from being beyond excited to having every hope and dream destroyed in five minutes? And then she's asking about the baby, asking me to watch over her with you. How could I have possibly said no?"

She asked him like she hoped he had the answer.

"I wasn't thinking straight, how could anybody? I'd have told her I would punch God herself if she had asked me to."

He wanted her to stop. This rant was like bile rising in his throat. But the cool collected woman of a few minutes ago was gone, and in her place was a frenzied imitation hellbent on getting her entire story out.

"So then she died," she croaked, the tears intensifying, "and that was that. All I wanted to do was curl into a ball and die, too. There was nothing for me anymore."

Like a switch, the utter despair became absolute loathing. "But there you were a little while later, putting that fucking baby in my arms, telling me we had to watch out for her for Willow. How was I supposed to love it ,when this thing that had existed for three hours caused the death of the woman I loved?"

She leaned toward Xander, gripping the counter top so hard he actually heard the wood cracking.

She said through gritted teeth, "I held that thing in my arms and looked at it's face for the first time. I saw you, and I saw her, but I didn't see me. And then the baby started screaming. It must have felt me shaking and knew that all I wanted to do was squeeze the life out of it. So I broke the last promise I ever made her, got the hell out of the hospital, and I never looked back."

Once she stopped speaking, it was like a puppeteer had cut her strings. She limply let go of the counter while silently weeping. Serena broke from her trance and quickly grabbed her into a bone splitting hug. Kennedy calmed down immediately as Serena whispered into her hair.

"It's okay baby, relax. It's not worth it. I'm here now. It's okay." The look she gave Xander as she held Kennedy hinted at pain in his immediate future.

This shook his foundation. Her leaving gave him a focus during those dark days. She was the bad guy who never really loved Willow, and he was the good guy who did the right thing.

Thinking of Kennedy back then helped turn his crippling depression into workable anger.

But he never could have imagined this. He wished she had left because she'd been selfish. He wished they'd never had this conversation.

To think that a person Willow loved so deeply could have that in them. To almost kill a newborn.

Vampires he could understand, but this truly frightened him.

"You're a real asshole, you know that," Serena bit out.

Xander couldn't help the laugh that began to bubble up. In a few seconds, it became uncontrollable. The emotional roller coaster of the last few minutes made him beyond loopy.

Serena spit out, "What the fucks so funny?"

In between howling laughter, Xander answered, "Oh man, this is great, the Level 5 witch, who is here to kidnap my daughter and torture me, is accusing me of being an asshole. Well if that doesn't beat all."

Serena was not amused. "Level 5? Check your facts again old man, I'm a Level 7."

Xander calmed down, but still had a smile on his face. "Now Serena," he tutted, "don't try lying to me. Not only was I the acting head of the Council when we got your profile all those years ago, I was there when we created the frickin scale!"

Serena's dander was up, but Xander was on a roll.

"A Level 1," he lectured, "is any schlub you pick up off the streets, set a book of magic in front of, and tell them 'Read this.' A Level 10, well, that was Willow, you know, world changing magic."

He grinned right at her. "And believe me, you are no Willow. No matter how much you may try to be."

Fire appeared in Serena's eyes as she untangled from a still out-of-it Kennedy.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

Instead of answering the question, Xander asked, "How long you been a redhead there, Serena?"

Her slight flush was answer enough. "So I'm a redhead now. I've also had blue, black, blond, purple, and green hair. Still think I got issues, Freud?"

"I think your issues have issues," he answered immediately. "But you and I both know what I'm talking about. Tell me, your latest switch to redhead; was that you're idea, or someone else's?"

Her eyes darted to Kennedy for just a fraction of a second. It was long enough to tell him what he needed.

Kennedy tossed out a soft, "Serena." She stared once more at something no one else could see.

Whether or not Serena heard her, she didn't acknowledge it. "Yeah, well your Willow set up every ward, every protection in this house, and I tore through them like they were wrapping paper. Every single one. If she's so big and bad, how did she ever let a Level 7," She used obnoxious finger quotes, "get the best of her?"

"You asked me who Dick Sargent was a few minutes ago." He needed to keep her off balance. With Kennedy mentally out of the picture, he had a shot at taking Serena down with the same plan.

"Dick Sargent was a replacement actor on the television show 'Bewitched.' Sure, he kinda looked like the first Darren, said all the same jokes Dick York had used, and he was a good enough actor. But at the end of the day, you just sensed something off about him."

He stared deep into Serena's eyes, speaking every word deeply and clearly. "He was an impostor Serena, just like you. You can dress up like Willow, wear your hair like her, try and convince you're one tenth as strong as she was, magically and otherwise. But at the end of the day, you couldn't lick her cauldron."

Instantly Serena bared her teeth and let loose with a guttural yell. She raised her hands toward Xander.

Kennedy finally snapped out of her funk. She yelled out, "Serena no!"

Serena was so focused on blasting him with magic, she failed to see Xander pick up the knife. As he swung it in a wide arc towards the side of her neck, time itself seemed to slow down. He was able to focus on the fear and surprise on Serena's face as she realized she would be long dead before whatever she was planning on uttering ever left her lips.

However, his mistake was to swing for the jugular instead of just stabbing her in the heart. He forget that the other person in the room was a slayer.

A split second before knife connected with skin, Kennedy grabbed his wrist in a vice like grip.

Kennedy twisted his wrist, causing Xander to cry out in pain and drop the knife. Kennedy quickly delivered a punch to his solar plexus that drove every last bit of air out of his lungs and launched him off his feet.

He smashed into the kitchen sink cabinets. He laid there in a daze as he felt all the detergents and soaps from underneath the sink ooze down his back.

"Dammit!" Kennedy had Serena's chin between her fingers. "Pay attention! Didn't I tell you he was dangerous? You spent all your time making fun of him, taunting him to try something. Guess what, he did! And if I hadn't been there, your body would be here and your head would be rolling into the dining room."

Serena didn't say a word. She took big gulping breaths of air, and looked at Xander with her eyes wide open.

He saw through blurry vision Kennedy letting go of Serena. She knelt down just outside of his arms reach, ignoring the soap pond forming on the floor.

"It's time Xander."

He couldn't look at her. He laid there, his back on the kitchen cabinets, chest throbbing. The acrid smell of burning food wafted throughout the kitchen. Hopelessness flowed through his body.

He'd failed, and because of it, his little girl's life was virtually over.

Kennedy had the decency to at least look pensive. When she spoke, it was without malice or hate.

"I know that I can't give you any comfort. God knows you wouldn't take it even if I could. All I can do is be honest with you."

Her words were soft and gentle. "You're going to die here, tonight, and it's going to be painful. After what you just tried, it can't be any other way. Then I'm going to take A.J., deliver her to the Order, and after that, I won't think twice about her or this night."

She pushed the hair out of her face. "I know you're sitting here wondering how I could do this to that little girl. How I could do this to Willow. The truth is, I'm not the woman she fell in love with. That girls long buried. All thats left is a woman who murders for money, fucks without a care in the world, and doesn't carry an ounce of guilt."

She reached out and gently rubbed his right cheek. Her voice gave the barest quiver.

"But if I'm being honest, and I swear to you I am, I think Willow is watching right now. There's no words for how much she must hate me. I totally get that. You though, she always loved, and if I know anything, it's that she doesn't blame you for any of this."

Kennedy caressed his cheek for another moment, before standing and walking toward Serena. She kept her back to them both, which seemed to be Serena's cue to perform whatever she had planned.

Serena wasted no time. She moved towards the kitchen table, and with a flick of her wrist, the table and four chairs went flying out of the room. She stood in the tables vacated spot.

She looked like it was Christmas.

The air in the kitchen took on a metallic tang. A silent wind rose up and began to sweep throughout the house. A hum, which started off soft but got progressively louder, emanated from all around them. Serena herself began to glow a soft, pulsing red.

Whatever magic she was drawing into her body was at a level Xander hadn't seen in a long time.

"So here it is, the big surprise." Her voice had dropped a few octaves. "I bet a big geek like yourself is a huge 'Harry Potter' fan. Probably waited in line with all the ten year old girls when the books came out. Me, I was never much for lame children's stories. But I kept hearing so many people talking about it, that I figured what the hell? I'm a witch, it's a book about magic, at the very least I can get a laugh out of all the things they fuck up."

She looked at Xander like a lion stalking a gazelle. "Imagine my surprise when reading through all that lame Hogwarts bullshit, that I eventually found a good part." The glow intensified.

"It was when they talked about a spell for absolute pain. 'Crucio' they called it." She let out a laugh. "I even loved the name of it. It just sounds demented. Of course, I don't have a wand, so it won't be exactly the same, but I've been told that the pain is real. Any last words before I pretty much drive you insane?"

"Yeah," he said, "quit monologuing. You're not a Bond villain for godsakes."

He stood up. He'd always promised himself that given the chance, he would die facing whatever killed him.

Serena said, "Good for you Frodo. Didn't think you had it in you."

With the last of his energy, he gave her a small grin. "Enough chit-chat. I like the quiet."

She raised her hands, channeling all the power she had collected through them, and shot what looked like red crackling laser beams at his chest.

Xander didn't have time to duck or brace himself; the pain was as overwhelming as it was immediate. Every nerve ending in his body erupted in indescribable fire. He sensed rather than felt himself fall to floor. He screamed so hard he felt like he might tear his throat.

Seconds felt like hours. He stopped forming coherent thoughts. The pain was all he was aware of.

Then just as suddenly as it started, the pain stopped. By all rights he should have been dead or insane. He still laid there like a boneless mass, though.

It took about thirty seconds for the faint blue light behind his eyelid to register. That was followed by muffled yells.

With supreme effort, he rolled onto his left side, and opened up his eye. A wonderfully terrifying sight greeted him.

Serena was in the middle of the kitchen, in the same spot she had just tried to kill him from. Now though, her body floated three feet off the ground, covered in some sort of bluish lightning. Her blood curdling screams reminded him of his from a minute ago.

Kennedy stood next to her, screaming 'Serena' over and over again. She darted her arm out to try and separate Serena from this cloud of energy. When her fingers made contact with Serena's wrist, Kennedy's body lit up with the same bluish energy.

She started screaming, too.

The blue light from the cloud intensified to blinding levels. Xander barely had time to cover his face before the blue light pulsed in one final, loud burst.

After a few seconds, he rubbed his eye, trying to wipe away the spots. When he finally could see again, he saw Serena laying in the same spot. Her clothes and body were smoking.

Xander searched for Kennedy. Unlike her girlfriend, she'd been launched clear across the kitchen and into the adjoining living room. The distinctly human sized crater she left in the wall would have killed a normal human. Even with all her slayer healing, she was only semi-conscious.

Serena moaned, getting his attention. She drew herself up on her hands and knees.

He needed to think of something right now.

He looked around the kitchen, and saw that one of the drawers next to the stove was open. He raised his right hand to grab onto it, and groaning with the strain that simple act caused his body. As he slowly and methodically dragged himself to his knees, his eyes never left Serena.

She was still crouched down, trying to regulate her breathing. The smoke still curled around her like a snake.

When she looked at him, her face was full of confusion.

"That's," she stammered, "that's not possible. I checked every ward, every spell, every invocation. There was nothing I missed. I spent months making sure I didn't miss anything."

The drawer creaked as he forced it support more of his weight. Serena noticed him, quickly raising her hands up in a repeat maneuver. He tried to brace himself once more.

Except this time nothing happened.

"What, what the fuck is this," she snarled. "What the fuck did you do to me? Why can't I do anything? Why can't I feel any magic?"

She stood up; a wild, animalistic look on her face. Xander was still on his knees when she reached behind into the back of her waistline and pulled out the pistol.

She kept repeating, "What the fuck did you to me," over and over as she waved the gun vaguely in his direction.

He had no clue what happened to her. He didn't say that though; he wasn't sure his mouth worked yet.

She steadied the gun on him. "Fuck you! Don't say anything then. I don't need you to tell me. I'll figure it out myself after I put a fucking bullet in your brain." She started toward him.

If rage was what powered Serena into moving, then hope was going to do the same thing for Xander. There was no way he would fail now. No way he would fail his daughter.

Instinct took over. He darted up, looking for the deadliest weapon within reach. A split second later he decided.

He was going to use the five gallon boiling pot of spaghetti sauce.

He grabbed the handle, and in one motion spun around back to Serena. He heard her trying to fire the gun, but for the first time luck seemed to be on his side: the novice had the safety on.

She had no time to react before the sauce and pot smashed into the right side of her skull. The gun went sliding across the floor towards the front door, as Serena's screams filled the air.

Xander held back his gag reflex once the smell of burning flesh reached his nose.

Serena was out for the count, but that still left one slayer. Xander looked to the living room to find that Kennedy had just opened her eyes. She shot to her feet and with an inhuman shriek, ran toward him.

He jumped over Serena's writhing body, took one power step, and slid on his knees towards the gun. It was his only chance against a slayer.

Just before she reached him, Kennedy took a direct step on the ever increasing soap pond on the floor. She faltered for one little half second.

That was all he needed.

The misstep gave Xander enough time to reach the gun first, thumb the safety, and point it right between her eyes.

She stopped on a dime, her head four feet away from the barrel.

"Sorry to ruin your kidnapping."

Kennedy looked hard into his eyes. No doubt trying to see if he was bluffing. Eventually she took a step back.

"Your girlfriend isn't in very good shape." He nodded towards Serena, whose screams had turned into an ongoing whimper.

"Sorry if I couldn't care less. I've always had a policy of not killing human beings, but with her, well let's just say that given another shot to go 'Looney Tunes' on the side of her head, I would put some more 'ooomph' into it."

He continued. "You don't exist in my world anymore. You came into my house to kill me and kidnap my daughter, and that's that. Now you're just a member of an organization that the Council has deemed 'nefarious'. But here's the kicker, as long as you grab your girlfriend her and leave this house quiet as mice, I'm going to let you go."

Neither moved a muscle.

"You want to know why? It's simple. I want you to tell the Order their days are over. The Council has ignored them up to this point because they had bigger fish to fry. I'd say that policy is going to change after tonight."

Xander did his best to reign in his anger, but some of it bubbled over. "You tell your higher ups, whatever species they may be, that I'm back in the game and heading up this operation personally. Starting tomorrow, the Order of Taraka gets put on the 'near extinction' list."

Xander stood up and took a few slow steps back. His gun never wavered. "Like I said; you're a ghost to me. I've dealt with plenty of ghosts in my time. Don't doubt that I'll deal with you, too."

Kennedy was inscrutable. She slowly made her way toward Serena, never taking her eyes off him. Xander kept the gun trained on her, making sure she never got close.

Kennedy gently picked up Serena. She slid her arms around Kennedy's neck and buried her head into her shoulder.

The pair made their way to the back door. When Kennedy grabbed the door handle, Xander said, "It's probably a good idea for you to run as fast as you can. I don't care what your girlfriend did to this place; that little light show registered on somebodies radar, and believe me, it won't be long till they cavalries here."

He had one last knife to twist. "I guess her months of planning weren't good enough to beat Willow. I think somewhere deep down, you knew this would happen."

Kennedy still had her hand poised on the door handle. "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea," she said softly.

Xander lowered his gun in confusion. "What?"

"That was the name of her favorite song."

Without another word or look, Kennedy opened the door and walked out with Serena.

As the door clicked shut, Xander dropped the gun and collapsed onto the floor. The adrenaline was fading, and his body wanted to shut down. He couldn't stop from vomiting.

When he finished, he spit and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. A second later, he betrayed his body and sprinted up the steps.

He threw open the door to A.J.'s room, unable to see all the pictures on her pink walls through the darkness. A little sliver of light was coming out of the bottom of her walk in closet. He opened the door to see the 'Little Mermaid' night light shining in full force.

He dropped down to his knees and looked into the tent. His heart stopped when he didn't immediately see her.

But then the lump under the blanket peeked out of the side. A.J launched herself once again into his arms, this time inconsolable.

Xander tried soothing her the best he could, but he knew that it would be a long time, if ever, before she got over this night.

He held his daughter tight, thinking about what was to come. He was dead serious when he said he'd take over this operation personally. He had no doubts Ziva would understand; hell, she'd force him to let her join.

He wondered what Willow would say. Would she agree, or would she tell him to stop worrying, let the Council deal with it and focus on his family. Would she be disappointed when she realized he could never do that?

He sighed into his daughters scalp; he'd been getting so used to the normal life.


End file.
